Despite all the claims linking Raphinha to Barcelona, with the Catalan media getting carried away over the past week or so, a few days ago Marca said the Leeds United player is just an option for the Blaugrana and nothing had happened.
AS throw a bit more doubt on the situation today.
The Spanish newspaper have a headline saying: ‘‘Slammed door’ from Dembele to Raphinha’
To make things clear, they go on to say: ‘The French attacker is showing now, more than ever, a predisposition to continue. If he accepts Barca’s conditions, the club would rule out the Brazilian winger from Leeds.’
Ousmane Dembele has been in a renewal battle with Barcelona for over a year. The Frenchman’s agent had been asking for huge amounts to renew, and Barca simply won’t agree.
AS explain that should Dembele renew, then Barcelona won’t look to make a big investment on a player ‘who would be Ousmane’s substitute’. Instead they’d consider keeping Adama Traore, who is currently on loan from Wolves.
Raphinha is watching the situation, and it’s explained his dream could turn to nothing should the Barcelona player finally put pen to paper, which is seen as likelier now than it was a few weeks ago.
The Spanish newspaper also throw doubt on the move without a renewal, saying: ‘Barcelona, despite having good reports on the player, is not willing to pay a high amount for the Brazilian, and even less if Dembele stays. In no case will they enter auctions and bids, so his arrival would be practically ruled out if the Frenchman renews for Barcelona.’
Maybe the current Raphinha media circus, and the reason for the Catalan media pushing it so much, is to put pressure on Dembele.
